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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: bay · pitch · content · clip · object · squash · rock · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rock — music
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. object — a thing
  8. clip — to cut
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — a video
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. object — an aim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bay — a horse colour

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