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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: clip · pitch · pitcher · court · squash · snap · rash · pit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. court — of law
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. snap — to click
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pitch — completely
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. squash — to crush
  13. court — for sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. court — of a king
  24. rash — hasty

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