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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: stem · fork · capital · lean · pitch · field · mouse · court

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — of law
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. court — of a king
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. capital — money
  12. field — for sport
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pitch — completely
  18. stem — to come from
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. court — 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