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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 120 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: track · staff · bat · clip · saw · craft · pitch · content

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. saw — the tool
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bat — the animal
  5. staff — employees
  6. track — a song
  7. staff — employees
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. craft — boats
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. track — to keep track
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. content — happy
  22. track — a path
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. pitch — a sports field

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