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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: wind · land · nail · safe · fork · degree · pitch · swing

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. fork — in a road
  7. land — ground
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — to come down
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — from a university
  15. swing — music
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. degree — temperature
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. swing — to play on
  24. land — a country

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