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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 116 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: file · straw · bear · swing · bound · pitch · rock · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. file — a document
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rock — music
  7. bound — obliged
  8. club — a group
  9. bear — the animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pitch — completely
  12. swing — music
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. file — a tool
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bound — certain
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. swing — in golf

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