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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — for catching
  6. mug — to rob
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. swing — music
  9. track — to keep track
  10. net — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. track — a path
  14. clip — a video
  15. mug — a face
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mug — a cup
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. track — a song
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — in golf

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