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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 · branch · wind · mark · plane · row · spring · pitch

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. row — a line
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spring — the season
  11. branch — a division
  12. mark — a trace
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. row — to paddle
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — music

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