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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. suit — to fit
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a document
  6. field — farmland
  7. swing — to play on
  8. file — a tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bound — obliged
  14. swing — music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. capital — money
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. wind — moving air
  20. suit — clothes
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bound — certain

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