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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 120 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: coach · chip · rash · net · wound · wind · clip · pitch

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. net — after costs
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — for catching
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chip — for betting
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. net — in sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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