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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stand — to bear
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. land — to come down
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. object — an aim
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. season — in sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. clip — a video
  22. land — a country
  23. pitch — completely
  24. land — ground

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