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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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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: straw · field · bass · ball · pitch · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — low music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bass — the fish
  15. field — farmland
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. ball — a dance
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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