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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 116 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: nail · land · bass · coach · pitcher · ground · bat · swing

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — to come down
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. ground — the earth
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. swing — to play on
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. land — ground
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ground — a position
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. land — a country

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