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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: bat · pitcher · net · chair · pitch · safe · field · wound

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. field — for sport
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — a subject
  14. pitch — completely
  15. net — for catching
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — farmland
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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