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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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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: pitch · firm · degree · bat · ground · lash · swing · stick

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. firm — a company
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. swing — music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. degree — from a university
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. ground — a position
  10. firm — decided
  11. pitch — completely
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. swing — to play on
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — temperature
  17. firm — steady
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. swing — in golf

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