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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: bark · firm · field · pitch · snap · saw · last · squash

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. field — for sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. saw — the tool
  6. firm — a company
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. saw — the tool
  11. firm — steady
  12. squash — the sport
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pitch — completely
  21. firm — decided
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. last — final
  24. bark — to shout

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