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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 116 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 · field · bulb · spell · court · file · sharp · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitch — completely
  3. field — for sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. sharp — clever
  6. file — a document
  7. court — of law
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. file — a line of people
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spell — letters
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. court — for sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. court — of a king

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