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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: mine · pitch · file · saw · snap · rush · lean · field

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. saw — the tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. field — a subject
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitch — a sports field

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