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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: pitcher · wound · can · land · swing · snap · date · pass

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. can — to be able to
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pass — a permit
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — a country
  11. swing — music
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. can — a tin
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. date — the fruit
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — an injury
  24. can — a tin

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