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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. band — a music group
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. band — a ring
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kid — child
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pitch — completely
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lean — thin
  19. net — for catching
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ground — a position
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — crushed

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