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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 · calf · mark · wind · clip

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — to rip
  4. clip — for paper
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wind — moving air
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. mark — a trace

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