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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 116 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. root — of a plant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. swing — to play on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. swing — music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. swing — in golf
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitch — completely
  14. root — of a word
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. content — happy
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. root — the cause
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. sharp — clever

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