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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. clip — for paper
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a cup
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. hand — help
  19. swing — music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. racket — for tennis
  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