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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: clip · ground · bear · arm · perch · mine · jam · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. clip — a video
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ground — the earth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mine — for digging
  14. perch — the fish
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ground — a position
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. ground — crushed
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bear — the animal

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