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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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Word bank
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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: fan · arm · net · pitch · land · swing · field · stand

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. field — for sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitch — completely
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. swing — music
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. field — farmland
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. net — after costs
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. land — ground
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — a country
  21. net — in sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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