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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: pitch · wind · branch · coach · band · clip · rest · mug

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rest — a break
  4. mug — to rob
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pitch — completely
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mug — a face
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. band — a ring
  21. branch — a division
  22. band — a music group
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mug — a cup

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