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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · content · rule · swing · kid · pitch

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. kid — child
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rule — a law
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. content — happy
  17. swing — to play on
  18. content — the amount

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