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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: tear · pitch · wound · arm · saw · pop · field · bear

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. field — a subject
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitch — completely
  7. saw — the tool
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bear — the animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pop — soda
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — music

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