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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — happy
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pitch — completely
  12. clip — a video
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. clip — for paper
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. saw — the tool
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — to cut
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. scale — for weighing

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