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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: wave · rush · present · field · ground · mug · board · pitch

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mug — a face
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mug — a cup
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. present — there
  10. board — a committee
  11. ground — a position
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. field — a subject
  14. board — to get on
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — the time now
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ground — the earth
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. present — a gift
  24. field — for sport

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