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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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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: ground · swing · mine · racket · fork · ball

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fork — in a road
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ball — a great time
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ball — a dance
  9. swing — music
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis

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