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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: pit · band · swing · dip · spell · fan · court · pitcher

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. swing — in golf
  3. court — for sport
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. court — of a king
  12. spell — letters
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pit — a hole
  18. band — a music group
  19. pit — in a race
  20. swing — music
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — of law

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