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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 116 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: wake · squash · wind · object · nail · clip · bat · pitch

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. object — to protest
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. object — a thing
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — a video
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wake — a trail
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — moving air
  17. object — an aim
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bat — the animal
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. squash — the vegetable

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