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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 116 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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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: cold · patient · pitch · ruler · tear · clip · vault · face

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. face — to confront
  5. clip — to cut
  6. vault — a safe
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — from crying
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. tear — to rip
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. face — part of the head
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. face — to point toward
  24. tear — from crying

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