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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. present — a gift
  6. swing — to play on
  7. present — the time now
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitch — completely
  10. swing — music
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. band — a music group
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. present — there
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. file — a tool
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. band — a ring
  23. spring — of water
  24. band — a rubber band

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