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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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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: pitcher · kid · staff · swing · spring · mate · net · bass

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. net — after costs
  3. spring — a coil
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — for catching
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. spring — of water
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bass — the fish
  14. staff — employees
  15. net — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. staff — employees
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bass — low music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kid — child
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. staff — a stick

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