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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 · toast · bat · fork · spring · clip · fine · deal

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. clip — a video
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spring — a coil
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fork — in a road
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — the season
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fine — all right

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