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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: cap · pitch · key · hide · ball · tear · clip · bat

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. key — the most important part
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — to rip
  5. key — in music
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. clip — to cut
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a hat

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