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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — in golf
  4. staff — employees
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. swing — to play on
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. net — for catching
  12. board — a committee
  13. pitch — completely
  14. swing — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. land — ground
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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