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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pitch — completely
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. land — a country
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — for sport
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. field — farmland
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — a subject
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. tear — from crying

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