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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. swing — music
  4. chip — to eat
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. swing — to play on
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — completely
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. swing — in golf
  15. squash — the sport
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. capital — money
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pound — a weight

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