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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: row · pitch · clip · lie · content · cap · bat · roll

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. row — to paddle
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitch — completely
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cap — of ice
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. row — a line
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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