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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: pitch · deal · pitcher · toast · hand · drill · field · stock

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hand — help
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stock — goods
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. field — for sport
  19. drill — a practice
  20. toast — bread
  21. stock — shares
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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