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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: swing · game · saw · hand · pitch · content · rush · root

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. root — of a word
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pitch — completely
  9. saw — the tool
  10. content — happy
  11. rush — hurry
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — help
  14. root — of a plant
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. root — the cause
  24. swing — music

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