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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: fork · pitch · foot · mine · field · pitcher · sharp · kick

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitch — completely
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — for sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. kick — in football
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fork — a garden 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