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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 · scale · kick · clip · tear · drill

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — to rip
  7. clip — a video
  8. scale — size or range
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pitch — completely
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — in football
  15. drill — army training
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. clip — to cut

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