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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pop — music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. clip — for paper
  7. net — after costs
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pop — soda
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. net — for catching
  16. ground — a position
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ground — crushed
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rush — hurry

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