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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: fan · bore · bowl · pitch · wave · clip · sharp · last

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. clip — a video
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. last — final
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. sharp — clever

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