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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. clip — a video
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — rain
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pitch — completely
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stock — shares

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