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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · fan · pass · march · field · bore · pitch · mine

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. march — music
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pitch — completely
  14. march — the month
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. row — a line
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. mine — an explosive

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