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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — happy
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — a path
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rush — hurry
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. track — a song
  18. kick — in football
  19. content — the amount
  20. swing — music
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. track — to keep track
  23. chair — a leader
  24. kick — with a leg

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