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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.

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: club · charge · pitch · sharp · lie · object · clip · ground

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ground — a position
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. charge — electricity
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pitch — completely
  10. clip — a video
  11. object — a thing
  12. club — for golf
  13. charge — a price
  14. lie — to recline
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. object — to protest
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — the earth
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. club — a group
  22. charge — in control
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lie — an untruth

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