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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: racket · hand · patient · mine · pitch · season · track · swing

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mine — for digging
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. swing — to play on
  8. track — a path
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. swing — music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. track — a song
  21. season — in sport
  22. track — to keep track
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. season — of the year

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