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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — a lid
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hand — help
  11. content — happy
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. roll — a list
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cap — a hat
  24. rash — on the skin

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