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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. firm — a company
  5. season — of the year
  6. kid — to tease
  7. swing — music
  8. chip — for betting
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. firm — steady
  13. season — in sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — a video
  16. chip — to eat
  17. firm — decided
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. clip — for paper

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