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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. swing — in golf
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stock — goods
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mine — for digging
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — for catching
  14. stock — shares
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kick — in football
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — clever
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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