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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: scale · rush · toast · pitch · tube · clip · ground · squash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. squash — to crush
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — bread
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. tube — the underground
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. tube — a container
  17. squash — the sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. scale — in music
  23. ground — a position
  24. scale — size or range

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