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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: nail · pitch · clip · pound · fall · pass · squash · spring

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — a video
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pass — a permit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pitch — completely
  16. fall — the season
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pound — a weight
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — of water

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