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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: kick · chip · lean · scale · pitch · roll · racket · clip

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a cake
  3. lean — to bend
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lean — thin
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. roll — a list
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitch — completely
  13. chip — for betting
  14. kick — in football
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. scale — in music
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. clip — a video

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