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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: pitch · lash · plane · straw · field · foot · season · last

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — a subject
  10. plane — a tool
  11. last — finally
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. field — farmland
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. foot — a measure
  24. field — for sport

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