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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. file — a document
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. net — after costs
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitcher — a jug

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