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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitch — completely
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. swing — music
  11. mate — a friend
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — for paper

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