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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. lie — to recline
  3. mug — a cup
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mug — a face
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mug — to rob
  11. kid — to tease
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. scale — in music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitch — completely
  22. clip — a video
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — for weighing

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