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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: arm · pitch · pitcher · clip · object · pound · firm · wound

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. firm — decided
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — a thing
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. clip — a video
  10. pound — a weight
  11. firm — steady
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. firm — a company
  15. object — an aim
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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