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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: spring · bass · pitch · clip · deal · snap · scale · foot

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — the season
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. scale — size or range
  9. foot — a measure
  10. scale — in music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. clip — to cut
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bass — low music
  24. pitch — completely

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