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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bank — for money
  3. last — final
  4. bank — of a river
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pop — music
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitch — completely
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. last — to go on

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