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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
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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: pitch · drill · clip · mate · wind · last · fan · pitcher

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. clip — a video
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — to go on
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — a practice
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — a friend
  24. pitcher — a jug

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