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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: pitch · snap · fine · clip · dip · lean · field · rule

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fine — all right
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. snap — to click
  7. rule — government
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. rule — a law
  12. clip — to cut
  13. dip — to sink
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. field — farmland
  16. lean — thin
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — a subject
  22. fine — high quality
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitch — completely

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