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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: current · clip · track · pound · pitch · fall · nail · net

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. net — after costs
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pound — a weight
  15. track — a song
  16. current — electric
  17. net — for catching
  18. fall — the season
  19. track — a path
  20. fall — to drop
  21. track — to keep track
  22. current — of water
  23. clip — for paper
  24. current — happening now

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