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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. clip — for paper
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitch — completely
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mate — a partner
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — to cut

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