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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — a position
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — to come down
  7. pitch — completely
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — crushed
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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