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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: swing · ground · kid · pit · scale · pop · dip · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. swing — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — in music
  8. ground — a position
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kid — child
  12. pop — soda
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pop — music
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. swing — to play on
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — size or range
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pit — a hole
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pop — to visit

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