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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. clip — a video
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. game — wild animals
  10. dip — to sink
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. clip — to cut
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — the fish
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. present — the time now
  19. clip — for paper
  20. date — the fruit
  21. game — a match
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bass — low music
  24. dip — a sauce

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