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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: firm · pitch · field · bound · spring · pitcher · mate · land

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. field — a subject
  6. spring — the season
  7. land — a country
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. firm — steady
  13. spring — of water
  14. land — ground
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — decided
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitcher — a jug

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