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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mark — a grade
  5. net — for catching
  6. firm — a company
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. net — in sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. dip — to sink
  18. net — after costs
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — decided
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mark — a trace
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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