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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: cell · wind · jam · drill · clip · key · pitch · ball

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. ball — a dance
  8. key — for a lock
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. clip — a video
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. key — in music
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. drill — army training
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — for paper
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — completely

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