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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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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: bear · key · shower · pitch · snap · rock · toast · clip

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. key — the most important part
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. key — in music
  10. shower — rain
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. clip — to cut
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bear — the animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. toast — bread
  20. snap — to click
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. rock — music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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