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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wax — to grow
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. lean — thin
  16. drill — the tool
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — a video
  24. swing — music

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