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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. net — after costs
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wind — moving air

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