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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: row · mine · bark · pitch · file · present · pitcher · field

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. field — for sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. present — there
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. row — a line
  9. field — a subject
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. present — the time now
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a document
  21. present — a gift
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. field — farmland

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