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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: temple · straw · kid · jam · clip · swing · wave · pitch

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. swing — to play on
  13. kid — child
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. swing — music
  16. pitch — completely
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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