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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: fine · swing · ground · last · pitcher · racket

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. last — finally
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. swing — in golf
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ground — the earth
  16. swing — to play on
  17. last — final
  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