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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. present — a gift
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. lean — to bend
  9. present — there
  10. race — a contest
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. present — the time now
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — to cut
  15. race — the arms race
  16. clip — a video
  17. bass — low music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rock — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pitch — completely
  24. lean — to rest against

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com