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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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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stand — to bear
  7. degree — an amount
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — money
  13. degree — temperature
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. capital — a city
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitch — completely
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. degree — from a university
  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