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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: swing · pitch · mark · chest · court · spring · wake · current

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. swing — in golf
  5. spring — the season
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. chest — a box
  9. court — of law
  10. wake — a trail
  11. swing — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of a king
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. current — happening now
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mark — a grade

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