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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: fork · race · pitch · saw · band · swing · date · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. saw — the tool
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. band — a music group
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. race — humankind
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. swing — in golf
  16. current — happening now
  17. fork — in a road
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pitch — completely
  21. band — a ring
  22. saw — the tool
  23. current — electric
  24. pitch — a sports field

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