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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: clip · lie · last · pitch · track · land · mark · tear

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — a trace
  4. pitch — completely
  5. land — ground
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. last — final
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — a song
  12. last — to go on
  13. land — a country
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. track — to keep track
  16. last — finally
  17. mark — a grade
  18. track — a path
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — to come down
  22. lie — to recline
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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