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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 · pop · net · file · stem · sharp · swing · clip

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pop — soda
  3. net — after costs
  4. pop — music
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. file — a tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. clip — for paper
  10. file — a document
  11. swing — to play on
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. clip — a video
  15. stem — to come from
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. net — for catching
  23. file — a line of people
  24. swing — music

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