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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spring — a coil
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. last — finally
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. toast — bread
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bass — low music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — final
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. pitch — completely
  21. last — to go on
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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