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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: ball · bear · pitch · ground · bat · wake · club · clip

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. club — for dancing
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. club — a group
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — for paper

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