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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · ground · racket · chest · firm · mug · saw · clip

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. chest — a box
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pitch — completely
  10. mug — a face
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. firm — decided
  23. mug — a cup
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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