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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 120 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: content · pitch · squash · pit · field · row · swing · last

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. last — finally
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — a subject
  9. last — to go on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. field — for sport
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitch — completely
  14. last — final
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. content — the amount
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — a line
  19. pit — a hole
  20. squash — to crush
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. field — farmland
  24. row — a quarrel

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