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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 120 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: net · saw · pound · pitch · hand · clip · bass · firm

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. net — in sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hand — help
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — a video
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. firm — steady
  8. bass — low music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. firm — decided
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. firm — a company
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — for catching
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pitch — completely
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bass — the fish
  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