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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 116 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. current — electric
  7. stock — goods
  8. rule — government
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. swing — to play on
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. current — happening now
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. stock — shares
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. pop — to visit

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