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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 120 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: content · bay · craft · ground · fork · game · track · pitch

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. track — a song
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. content — happy
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. ground — a position
  14. track — a path
  15. game — a match
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. ground — crushed
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitch — completely
  24. craft — boats

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