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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: pitch · kid · fan · racket · mark · bark · wind · track

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wind — moving air
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — a song
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. track — a path
  24. mark — a trace

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