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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: dip · cold · staff · drill · stem · clip · pit · pitch

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pit — in a race
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pit — a hole
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. drill — a practice
  13. staff — employees
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. stem — to come from
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cold — an illness

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