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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 120 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 · hide · field · sharp · stand · wound · drill · saw

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stand — to bear
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. field — for sport
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. drill — army training
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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