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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. clip — a video
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitch — completely
  7. scale — in music
  8. wax — to grow
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — to cut
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. stem — to come from
  19. net — in sport
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — size or range
  23. net — after costs
  24. wax — in the ear

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