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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: nail · swing · band · present · content · saw · pitch · ground

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitch — completely
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. content — happy
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. present — the time now
  9. ground — a position
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. saw — the tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ground — crushed
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. present — there
  23. content — the amount
  24. saw — the tool

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