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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: swing · stand · pitch · field · pound · rock · rash · band

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitch — completely
  18. swing — in golf
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pound — a weight
  21. band — a ring
  22. rock — music
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. field — farmland

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