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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: mate · pitch · field · court · row · pop · wax · ground

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ground — a position
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pop — soda
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. court — of a king
  12. pop — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — to paddle
  15. field — farmland
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mate — to breed
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — of law
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wax — to grow

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