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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. track — to keep track
  3. game — wild animals
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bass — the fish
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. game — a match
  13. net — in sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. pass — a permit
  16. track — a song
  17. net — for catching
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — for paper
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bass — low music

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