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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 · clip · dip · hand · firm · pit · charge · cold

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — not warm
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pit — a hole
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. charge — in control
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — steady
  16. hand — help
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. clip — a video
  24. firm — a company

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