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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: pitcher · ground · kick · scale · wind · clip · pop · lean

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. lean — thin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. scale — in music
  5. pop — music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kick — in football
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pop — soda
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. scale — for weighing

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