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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: saw · pitch · field · rest · tear · stick · clip · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — a break
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — a video
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — for paper
  17. field — for sport
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — farmland

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