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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. drill — army training
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rush — hurry
  14. clip — a video
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. deal — to handle
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rush — to hurry

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