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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: land · jam · track · pitcher · pass · net · field · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. land — to come down
  3. net — for catching
  4. chest — a box
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — for sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pass — a permit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. net — after costs
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. field — a subject
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. field — farmland
  19. land — a country
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — ground
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. net — in 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