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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — in sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. clip — for paper
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. chest — a box
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. scale — size or range
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. scale — in music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitch — completely
  24. season — of the year

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