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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: wind · bat · mug · lie · rule · pitch · swing · mate

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. rule — a law
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rule — government
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — a face
  16. swing — in golf
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. swing — music
  24. mug — a cup

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