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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: calf · clip · firm · drill · pitch · wound · chest · cold

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. clip — for paper
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. firm — a company
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. firm — steady
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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