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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. key — the most important part
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pit — a hole
  9. court — for sport
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. pit — in a race
  13. drill — the tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. key — for a lock
  16. present — the time now
  17. drill — army training
  18. present — there
  19. pitch — completely
  20. key — in music
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. clip — a video
  24. drill — a practice

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