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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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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: mine · land · pitch · mate · deal · swing · key · straw

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. mate — a partner
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pitch — completely
  5. mate — a friend
  6. land — ground
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. swing — music
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. deal — to handle
  13. land — to come down
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. land — a country
  21. mate — to breed
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. swing — to play on

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