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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: ground · field · row · pitcher · object · bat · saw · plane

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. object — to protest
  8. ground — the earth
  9. row — a line
  10. ground — a position
  11. plane — a tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. field — a subject
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. object — a thing
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. saw — the tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. row — to paddle

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