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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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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: bowl · pitch · wind · kid · field · press · track · perch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kid — child
  6. pitch — completely
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. field — farmland
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. track — a path
  14. field — for sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — to keep track
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — a subject
  22. track — a song
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. perch — for a bird

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