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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: land · mark · pitch · plane · pop · leaves · race · field

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — a country
  4. mark — a trace
  5. race — a contest
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — farmland
  14. land — to come down
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mark — a grade
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pop — music
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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