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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. cell — in biology
  3. swing — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rock — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cap — a hat
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. game — a match
  14. kid — to tease
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. pitch — completely
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cap — of ice
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — in golf

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