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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: straw · swing · bass · present · ball · pitcher · pit · hand

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. present — a gift
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ball — a dance
  9. present — the time now
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bass — the fish
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pit — in a race
  15. swing — in golf
  16. present — there
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. swing — music
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bass — low music
  24. straw — a straw man

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