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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: game · mouse · season · ball · branch · cold · pitcher · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. game — a match
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. branch — a division
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — of the year
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — in sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. branch — of a tree

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