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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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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: pitcher · field · mug · wake · march · chip · present · swing

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. swing — in golf
  3. field — farmland
  4. present — the time now
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. mug — a cup
  11. present — a gift
  12. field — for sport
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mug — a face
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. present — there
  21. swing — music
  22. mug — to rob
  23. field — a subject
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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