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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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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 · rest · bowl · tube · calf · chair · land · pitch

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rest — what's left
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. land — ground
  15. tube — the underground
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. land — a country
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. land — to come down

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