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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: last · scale · clip · current · pitch · mug · swing · cold

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. last — to go on
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. swing — in golf
  6. current — electric
  7. swing — music
  8. last — final
  9. mug — a cup
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. current — of water
  13. mug — a face
  14. last — finally
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — an illness
  20. current — happening now
  21. mug — to rob
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — to play on
  24. scale — in music

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