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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fine — high quality
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. can — a tin
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. clip — a video
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. tube — a container
  19. fine — all right
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. hand — help
  23. can — a tin
  24. scale — size or range

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