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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: file · firm · kid · pitcher · coach · saw · swing · rush

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — decided
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. swing — in golf
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — to tease
  13. file — a tool
  14. swing — music
  15. kid — child
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. swing — to play on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. rush — hurry
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a document

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