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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitch · tear · dip · clip · cell · firm

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. firm — decided
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — for paper
  11. firm — a company
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. firm — steady
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pitch — completely

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