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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: object · net · pitch · pitcher · shower · field · land · tube

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — to come down
  3. object — a thing
  4. pitch — completely
  5. net — in sport
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. net — after costs
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — a country
  11. tube — a container
  12. object — an aim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. field — a subject
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — for sport
  19. land — ground
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tube — the underground
  23. object — to protest
  24. tube — in a tire

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