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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: date · rush · can · chair · pitcher · field · chip · pitch

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — a subject
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. field — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rush — hurry
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitch — completely
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. field — farmland

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