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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 116 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: wake · club · field · staff · pitch · saw · wind · swing

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. swing — in golf
  6. field — for sport
  7. pitch — completely
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — farmland
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — for golf
  12. staff — employees
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. staff — a stick
  16. swing — music
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. club — a group
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — a subject
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wind — to turn a key

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