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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — happy
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hand — help
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. content — the amount
  14. cue — a hint
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cue — a signal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wind — moving air

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