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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · pitch · straw · clip · drill · press · bark · game

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. drill — army training
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bark — to shout
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. clip — to cut
  14. drill — the tool
  15. press — to push
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. press — a publisher
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. clip — a video
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — magic

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