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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. club — for golf
  3. pop — music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. clip — for paper
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. sharp — clever
  19. club — a group
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pop — soda
  22. club — for dancing
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. straw — dry grass

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