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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: swing · net · firm · pitch · racket · band · cold · rush

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. swing — to play on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. net — after costs
  8. firm — steady
  9. pitch — completely
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. net — in sport
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. firm — decided
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — not warm
  24. band — a music group

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