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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: tear · deal · swing · cap · racket · pit · field · straw

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. deal — to handle
  5. pit — a hole
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — music
  8. cap — a lid
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a hat
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cap — of ice
  15. swing — in golf
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tear — from crying
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. field — a subject
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. field — farmland

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