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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: march · spell · mouse · pop · chest · pitch · field · coach

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. chest — a box
  4. field — farmland
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pop — music
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. pop — soda
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pop — to visit
  15. march — music
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. field — for sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. march — the month
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — a subject
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — a trainer

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