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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 116 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: ground · swing · pit · ball · game · mate · spring · sharp

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ground — a position
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. swing — to play on
  10. sharp — clever
  11. swing — music
  12. mate — a partner
  13. ball — a great time
  14. swing — in golf
  15. game — a match
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. spring — of water
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mate — to breed

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