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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — for catching
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. net — in sport
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pound — a weight
  9. chip — to eat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rush — hurry
  13. swing — in golf
  14. clip — to cut
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — after costs
  23. court — of a king
  24. swing — to play on

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