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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cabinet · swing · pitch · hand · bear · club · band · spring

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. club — a group
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spring — a coil
  5. swing — in golf
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. spring — the season
  11. club — for golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hand — help
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitch — completely
  22. swing — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — in cards

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