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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kick — in football
  3. pit — in a race
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. file — a line of people
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. board — to get on
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — a video
  12. board — a committee
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — temperature
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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