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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: march · kick · wound · cold · swing · pitch

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — not warm
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kick — in football
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. march — music
  12. pitch — completely
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. swing — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — a thrill

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