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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 116 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: hide · pit · pitch · deal · kick · tube · wound · clip

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tube — a container
  7. deal — to handle
  8. tube — the underground
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pit — a hole
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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