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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pop — soda
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pop — music
  9. date — the fruit
  10. clip — a video
  11. wake — a trail
  12. band — a ring
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pop — to visit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pit — a hole
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — to cut
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. band — a music group

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