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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: pitch · present · foot · wake · arm · last · clip · mate

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. last — to go on
  3. present — a gift
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mate — a partner
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — a video
  12. present — the time now
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wake — a trail
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pitch — completely
  18. present — there
  19. last — final
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. foot — the bottom

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