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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: mine · chest · pass · pitch · cue · drill · swing · rash

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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 — to play on
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cue — a signal
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rash — a series
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chest — a box
  15. drill — army training
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cue — for pool
  22. pass — a permit
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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