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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. lean — thin
  3. kick — in football
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — a video
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. season — in sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pound — a weight
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pound — for dogs

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