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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 120 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: swing · chest · clip · pitcher · field · deal · scale · stand

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. clip — a video
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — in golf
  7. deal — to handle
  8. chest — a box
  9. scale — in music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. field — for sport
  14. stand — to bear
  15. swing — to play on
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. swing — music
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — for paper

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