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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: season · spring · sharp · chest · pitcher · file · stick · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. season — of the year
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spring — a coil
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. file — a tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — of water
  19. swing — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — a box
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a document

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