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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: ball · swing · pitch · content · stick · calf · rock · bark

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ball — a dance
  9. swing — to play on
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. content — the amount
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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