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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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bass — the fish
  7. perch — the fish
  8. clip — a video
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — to cut
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spell — letters
  16. bass — low music
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wound — an injury
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. spell — magic
  24. pitch — a sports field

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