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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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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: present · cold · pitcher · plane · swing · clip · pitch · file

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. present — a gift
  3. swing — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. file — a line of people
  7. present — the time now
  8. swing — in golf
  9. plane — a tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — completely
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a document
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cold — an illness
  23. present — there
  24. file — a tool

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