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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: bound · bat · swing · arm · row · wind · pitcher · charge

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. row — a line
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bound — certain
  13. charge — in control
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — electricity
  18. swing — music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — to paddle
  24. arm — a part of something

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