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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 · bark · stand · clip · wave · kid · field · key

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. key — the most important part
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. field — a subject
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitch — completely
  10. field — for sport
  11. key — for a lock
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. key — in music
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — to cut
  23. field — farmland
  24. stand — to bear

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