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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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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: row · clip · pitch · cue · march · band · net · arm

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. clip — for paper
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitch — completely
  8. net — in sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cue — a signal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. net — for catching
  13. clip — a video
  14. cue — a hint
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cue — for pool
  18. net — after costs
  19. march — music
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. march — the month
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. band — a ring

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