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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 · last · pitch · mine · clip · toast · deal · craft

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. toast — bread
  3. craft — a skill
  4. clip — a video
  5. swing — in golf
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. last — final
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — to go on
  11. mine — for digging
  12. clip — to cut
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. pitch — completely
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. craft — boats
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. last — finally
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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