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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. swing — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rush — hurry
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pitch — completely
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. content — happy
  18. court — of a king
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rash — hasty
  21. court — of law
  22. content — the amount
  23. rash — a series
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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