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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · hand · file · mate · pitch · hide · track · rest

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. file — a document
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rest — what's left
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. hand — in cards
  15. track — a song
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. rest — a break
  19. clip — to cut
  20. file — a tool
  21. track — a path
  22. clip — a video
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hide — to keep secret

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