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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: spring · swing · season · key · content · racket · pitch · press

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. swing — to play on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. content — the amount
  7. season — in sport
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. swing — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. key — in music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. content — happy
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pitch — completely
  22. season — of the year
  23. spring — the season
  24. press — newspapers

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