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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: branch · pitch · stand · cap · march · saw · field · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cap — of ice
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a hat
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. field — for sport
  17. branch — a division
  18. field — a subject
  19. cap — a lid
  20. march — music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ground — a position
  23. field — farmland
  24. ground — the earth

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