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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 120 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 · wind · stem · pass · foot · file · pitch · mine

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pass — a permit
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. clip — for paper
  14. file — a line of people
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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