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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · cabinet · tube · clip · leaves · straw · pitch · bound

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bound — certain
  4. tube — the underground
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pitch — completely
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. clip — a video
  22. bound — tied together
  23. tube — a container
  24. kid — child

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