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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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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: snap · prune · net · field · race · swing · pitch · mark

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. race — the arms race
  3. swing — in golf
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. net — in sport
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — farmland
  11. mark — a grade
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — a subject
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. swing — music
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. field — for sport
  21. swing — to play on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. net — for catching
  24. race — humankind

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