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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. deal — to handle
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. season — of the year
  5. swing — music
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. swing — in golf
  9. kid — child
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. capital — money
  13. season — in sport
  14. pitch — completely
  15. field — farmland
  16. swing — to play on
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. field — for sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fork — in a road
  24. field — a subject

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