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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 · pitch · bank · nail · rush · racket · spring · mate

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. clip — a video
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bank — for money
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bank — for money
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mate — to breed
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bank — of a river

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