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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: kick · pit · march · sharp · pitcher · press · tube · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. march — the month
  6. press — a publisher
  7. sharp — clever
  8. march — the month
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — music
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pit — a hole
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kick — in football
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — to push
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — in a race
  24. tube — a container

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