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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 116 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spell — magic
  3. row — to paddle
  4. present — the time now
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — a video
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. charge — electricity
  9. spell — letters
  10. present — a gift
  11. clip — to cut
  12. charge — a price
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. charge — in control
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. present — there

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