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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 · chest · spring · spell · wound · cap · swing · bowl

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spell — letters
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. spring — of water
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. swing — music
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — the season
  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