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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: clip · drill · dip · stand · wind · pitch · game · kid

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. dip — to sink
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kid — to tease
  5. game — wild animals
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a match
  12. drill — a practice
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — a video
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stand — to bear
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. kid — child
  24. drill — army training

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