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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: field · clip · swing · pitch · safe · current · stand · capital

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. current — happening now
  3. stand — to bear
  4. field — a subject
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. swing — to play on
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — a city
  11. swing — in golf
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. current — electric
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. clip — to cut
  21. swing — music
  22. current — of water
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. capital — money

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