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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.

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: pitch · ground · present · hand · mouse · swing · bank · march

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hand — in cards
  3. present — there
  4. march — the month
  5. present — the time now
  6. ground — a position
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — music
  9. pitch — completely
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bank — for money
  13. present — a gift
  14. hand — help
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. bank — for money
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. swing — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — of a river
  24. ground — the earth

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