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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: trunk · tear · stand · pitch · clip · root

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stand — to bear
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — of a plant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. root — the cause
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. root — of a word

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