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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. net — in sport
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — for catching
  6. pound — a weight
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. clip — a video
  20. roll — a cake
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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