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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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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: land · lash · spring · wake · swing · pitch

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. 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. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. land — to come down
  6. pitch — completely
  7. land — a country
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — the season
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. land — ground
  17. wake — a trail
  18. 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