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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: current · hand · sharp · firm · racket · pound · pitch · clip

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. clip — a video
  4. firm — decided
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. hand — help
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitch — completely
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. pound — a weight
  19. firm — steady
  20. clip — for paper
  21. current — of water
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. firm — a company
  24. racket — for tennis

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