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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 · drill · march · snap · calf · racket · sharp · file

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. drill — the tool
  3. sharp — clever
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. drill — a practice
  6. snap — to click
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. march — the month
  18. pitch — completely
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. file — a line of people
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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