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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · wound · perch · foot · pitch · clip · press · ball

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pop — music
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. pop — to visit
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pitch — completely
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. foot — a measure
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. ball — a dance
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. perch — the fish
  20. press — to push
  21. wound — an injury
  22. press — a publisher
  23. pop — soda
  24. foot — part of the body

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