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

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — a container
  4. field — for sport
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. current — of water
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitch — completely
  17. file — a document
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — a subject
  20. file — a tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. current — electric

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