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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: fan · pound · wind · pitch · field · cell

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pound — a weight
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pound — to hit hard

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