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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: pitch · bore · lie · land · clip · race · toast · patient

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. toast — bread
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — a video
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. land — a country
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. race — humankind
  16. land — ground
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — to come down
  20. race — a contest
  21. bore — to tire
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. toast — the most admired

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