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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bass — the fish
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cap — a lid
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — to cut
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rash — a series
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stand — to bear
  19. game — a match
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. clip — a video
  24. cap — a hat

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