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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mug — to rob
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. present — there
  7. mug — a face
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. season — in sport
  11. present — the time now
  12. season — of the year
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rest — what's left
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. clip — a video
  19. present — a gift
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mug — a cup
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rest — a break
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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