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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: net · pitcher · present · field · pop · chair · wind · board

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. field — farmland
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. board — a committee
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. present — the time now
  16. board — to get on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. field — for sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — a subject
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — moving air

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