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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: straw · calf · swing · pitch · hand · present · deal · field

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. field — farmland
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. swing — to play on
  12. field — a subject
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. hand — in cards
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. present — there
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. present — the time now
  21. swing — music
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — a gift
  24. hand — help

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