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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: pitch · hand · clip · fine · swing · tube · dip · leaves

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fine — high quality
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitch — completely
  9. swing — in golf
  10. clip — for paper
  11. swing — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fine — all right
  18. hand — in cards
  19. swing — to play on
  20. hand — help
  21. tube — a container
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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