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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: chest · saw · pitch · field · club · mate · date · foot

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. club — a group
  5. mate — a friend
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mate — a partner
  9. foot — a measure
  10. field — a subject
  11. mate — to breed
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. club — for golf
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chest — of your body
  21. club — for dancing
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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