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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. clip — a video
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. dip — to sink
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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