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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: rush · race · season · bat · swing · pitcher · band · pass

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rush — hurry
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. race — a contest
  12. pass — a permit
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. band — a ring
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a music group
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. swing — music
  24. season — in sport

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