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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
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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: nail · chest · row · cap · pitch · date · field · track

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cap — a hat
  5. field — farmland
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. row — a line
  9. date — the fruit
  10. field — a subject
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — for sport
  13. track — a song
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chest — a box
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pitch — a sports field

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