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

Word bank: pit · field · lean · pitch · kick · race

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — humankind
  4. pitch — completely
  5. field — for sport
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. field — a subject
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pit — a hole
  14. lean — thin
  15. pit — in a race
  16. lean — to bend
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest

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