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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · clip · court · bore · chair · bank · tube · mine

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tube — a container
  12. bore — to drill
  13. court — of law
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. clip — a video
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mine — an explosive

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