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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. club — for golf
  3. field — for sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — to go on
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. club — for dancing
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — final
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pound — a weight
  15. club — a group
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. last — finally
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pitch — a sports field

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