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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rock — a stone
  3. ground — a position
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. clip — a video
  7. fall — to drop
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. mug — a face
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mug — a cup
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rock — music
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pitch — completely
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fall — the season

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