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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rash — hasty
  3. swing — music
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. swing — to play on
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitch — completely
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rash — a series
  23. swing — in golf
  24. ball — a great time

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