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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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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: ground · shower · clip · jam · staff · chest · pitch · bay

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. shower — rain
  3. ground — the earth
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. staff — employees
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chest — a box
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — a video
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — a position
  14. staff — a stick
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. staff — employees
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — for paper

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