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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. court — of law
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. swing — to play on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. court — for sport
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. swing — in golf
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. court — of a king
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pitch — completely
  22. kid — child
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — to tease

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