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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: lean · bound · date · track · field · kid · pitch · bass

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bass — low music
  8. bound — certain
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. track — a path
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — a subject
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bound — obliged
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bound — tied together
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. track — a song
  24. bass — the fish

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