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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pitch — completely
  4. swing — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. stock — goods
  7. clip — to cut
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spell — magic
  11. swing — to play on
  12. spell — a short time
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. swing — in golf
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — a video

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