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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: mark · kid · swing · club · hand · cell · pitch · fork

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. club — a group
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mark — a trace
  5. club — for golf
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mark — a grade
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hand — help
  12. swing — music
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. kid — child
  22. hand — in cards
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fork — a garden tool

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