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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: ruler · ground · row · band · squash · pitch · swing · sharp

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. row — a line
  5. band — a ring
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. swing — to play on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. sharp — clever
  17. ground — the earth
  18. squash — to crush
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pitch — completely
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. row — to paddle
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ruler — a monarch

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