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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 120 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: deal · spell · pitch · scale · mate · kick · racket · clip

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spell — magic
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. clip — for paper
  16. scale — in music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pitch — completely
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kick — in football
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — a video
  24. deal — an agreement

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