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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: wind · game · swing · track · pitch · land · drill · deal

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — a path
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — a country
  6. track — a song
  7. deal — to handle
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. swing — in golf
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. game — wild animals
  14. swing — music
  15. game — a match
  16. land — to come down
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. land — ground
  22. drill — a practice
  23. swing — to play on
  24. drill — army training

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