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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: mark · field · kid · swing · cold · present · rock · pitch

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cold — not warm
  5. swing — music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mark — a grade
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — child
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. present — there
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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