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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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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 · cabinet · clip · fan · cold · kick · dip · cell

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. 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. dip — to sink
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitch — completely
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. kick — in football
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. 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