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

Word bank: clip · bowl · present · pitch · kid · racket

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. present — a gift
  5. pitch — completely
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — to cut
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — a video
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — there
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. present — the time now

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