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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: clip · trunk · tear · pound · pitch · pitcher · rush · land

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — ground
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — a country
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — hurry
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rush — to hurry

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