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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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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: court · bat · mouse · pitch · swing · content · fork · press

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pitch — completely
  3. court — for sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. press — to push
  8. content — the amount
  9. press — a publisher
  10. fork — in a road
  11. court — of a king
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — of law
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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