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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 116 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: clip · pitch · wound · sharp · patient · wake · pitcher · mark

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wound — an injury
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wake — a trail
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wound — an injury

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