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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: spring · lean · press · swing · wound · pitch · drill · ground

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spring — of water
  5. ground — a position
  6. lean — thin
  7. swing — music
  8. drill — army training
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitch — completely
  17. spring — a coil
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — crushed
  22. press — a publisher
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wound — an injury

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