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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 124 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. club — for dancing
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — child
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. club — a group
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fall — the season
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fan — to cool the air

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