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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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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. current — of water
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — happy
  9. band — a music group
  10. swing — music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. band — a ring
  14. swing — to play on
  15. current — happening now
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. current — electric
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. content — the amount
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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