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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 · saw · tube · tear · rock · swing · pitch · fork

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rock — music
  3. swing — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pitch — completely
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rock — a stone
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. swing — to play on
  23. season — in sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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