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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the fish
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bass — low music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. net — for catching
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. clip — a video
  24. bass — the instrument

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