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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. club — for golf
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — a coil
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. season — in sport
  9. last — final
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. season — of the year
  12. spring — the season
  13. rush — hurry
  14. last — finally
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pop — soda
  21. last — to go on
  22. pop — music
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spring — of water

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