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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · mine · game · rash · pitch · kick

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. game — a match
  3. pitch — completely
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kick — in football
  15. clip — a video
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitch — a sports field

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