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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 · mark · file · chip · field · mine · fall · band

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. field — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. file — a document
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — for betting
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fall — the season
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a tool
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — a subject
  24. band — a ring

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