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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: stand · spell · pitch · rash · cap · swing · kid · stem

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. spell — letters
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rash — a series
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cap — a hat
  16. swing — music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spell — magic
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kid — child
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitch — completely

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