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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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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 · chair · clip · season · pass · wake · leaves · tear

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. season — of the year
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. season — in sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. chair — a leader
  22. tear — from crying
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. chair — a professorship

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