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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. date — the fruit
  3. clip — a video
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. shower — rain
  6. squash — to crush
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pound — a weight
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. clip — for paper
  16. content — the amount
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. content — happy
  20. clip — to cut
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — to wash
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. squash — the sport

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