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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: pitch · field · lean · bowl · coach · rock · pop · spring

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rock — music
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. field — farmland
  9. lean — to bend
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pop — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. pop — soda
  23. spring — of water
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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