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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: land · rush · clip · hand · pitch · mark · drill · stand

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hand — help
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. drill — army training
  9. mark — a trace
  10. land — to come down
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. clip — a video
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. land — ground
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. stand — to bear
  21. mark — a grade
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. hand — in cards

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