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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. game — wild animals
  3. net — in sport
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. swing — music
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wax — to grow
  20. game — a match
  21. net — for catching
  22. land — a country
  23. pitch — completely
  24. net — after costs

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