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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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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: tear · pitcher · coach · swing · racket · fan · cold · club

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. club — for golf
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. club — for dancing
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. swing — in golf
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — a group
  24. fan — a supporter

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