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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: pit · can · game · pitcher · prune · foot · coach · field

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. can — a tin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. field — farmland
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. game — a match
  14. field — a subject
  15. can — to be able to
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. prune — to trim
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pit — a hole
  23. prune — to trim
  24. field — 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