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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: plane · pitch · bore · date · pitcher · stand · file · sharp

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitch — completely
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. file — a document
  14. bore — to tire
  15. sharp — clever
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. bore — to drill
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stand — to bear

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