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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: date · cap · field · jam · ground · pitch · swing · bound

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. field — a subject
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. field — for sport
  5. ground — a position
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bound — certain
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. swing — in golf
  11. ground — crushed
  12. date — the fruit
  13. field — farmland
  14. bound — tied together
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cap — a hat
  22. swing — music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ground — the earth

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