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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. land — ground
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rash — a series
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rash — hasty
  11. swing — music
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. land — a country
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. mark — a grade
  18. clip — a video
  19. land — to come down
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. racket — for tennis

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