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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. date — the fruit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kick — in football
  6. race — a contest
  7. bat — the animal
  8. race — humankind
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — the arms race
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. clip — to cut
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pitch — completely
  23. swing — in golf
  24. date — on the calendar

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