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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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pitch — completely
  6. clip — for paper
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. object — an aim
  9. clip — a video
  10. cold — an illness
  11. row — a line
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — not warm
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rock — music
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. can — to be able to
  22. deal — to handle
  23. can — a tin
  24. row — to paddle

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