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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
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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 · tube · perch · lean · wax · clip · march · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — a container
  4. clip — a video
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pitch — completely
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — for paper
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wax — to grow
  23. march — music
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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