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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitch — completely
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. field — farmland
  8. drill — army training
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — shares
  11. mate — to breed
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — goods
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — for sport
  17. mate — a friend
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fall — to drop
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fall — the season
  24. tube — in a tire

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