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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · swing · mate · mine · patient · drill · sharp · file

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. drill — army training
  3. file — a tool
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. swing — to play on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a document
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mate — a friend
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mate — a partner
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. file — a line of people
  24. swing — music

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