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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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Word bank
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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: clip · fan · land · arm · ground · pitch · swing · bay

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — completely
  3. ground — crushed
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — a position
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. clip — for paper
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — in golf
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — a country

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