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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · drill · file · date · field · bass · pitch · kid

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — to tease
  4. drill — the tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a document
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. drill — army training
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. drill — a practice
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. date — the fruit
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bass — low music
  24. kid — child

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