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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. season — of the year
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chest — a box
  10. clip — a video
  11. board — to get on
  12. can — to be able to
  13. hand — in cards
  14. board — a committee
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. hand — help
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chest — of your body
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. chest — of your body

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