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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.

Words on the sheet
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: racket · date · pitcher · swing · mine · cold · sharp · deal

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cold — an illness
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — not warm
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. swing — in golf
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mine — for digging
  24. racket — for tennis

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