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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. clip — for paper
  4. suit — in cards
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. march — music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mate — to breed
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — clothes
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — a partner
  21. clip — to cut
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. shower — rain

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