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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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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: nail · cell · date · present · pitch · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cell — a phone
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitch — completely
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. date — the fruit
  11. present — a gift
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. clip — for paper
  14. present — there
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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