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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 116 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: season · wind · face · clip · vault · suit · chip · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — a video
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. chip — to eat
  11. face — to confront
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. clip — for paper
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pitch — completely
  22. clip — to cut
  23. face — to point toward
  24. season — of the year

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