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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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468
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: fine · swing · ground · last · pitcher · racket · lie · root

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. last — final
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — in golf
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fine — all right
  10. lie — to recline
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. ground — the earth
  16. last — to go on
  17. root — the cause
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fine — high quality
  20. root — of a word
  21. last — finally
  22. swing — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. root — of a plant

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