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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 120 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: pitch · pop · clip · pound · spring · swing · staff · wind

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pop — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. clip — a video
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pop — to visit
  24. spring — a coil

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