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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: spring · content · band · pitch · lash · foot · rest · clip

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a music group
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. rest — a break
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rest — what's left
  17. foot — a measure
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitch — completely
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. spring — of water
  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