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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: wake · kid · pitch · fall · stick · clip · fan · swing

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — child
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fall — the season
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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