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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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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. drill — the tool
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. kid — child
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. swing — in golf
  13. drill — army training
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. firm — decided
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. firm — a company
  18. kid — to tease
  19. firm — steady
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spring — of water
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. swing — music

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