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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: spring · deal · swing · cue · sharp · present · bat · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spring — of water
  7. present — the time now
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cue — a signal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. present — there
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. season — in sport
  22. deal — to handle
  23. spring — the season
  24. present — a gift

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