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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: foot · pitch · track · bat · last · row · squash · pound

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. track — a song
  4. last — to go on
  5. row — a line
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pitch — completely
  11. squash — to crush
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pound — a weight
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. foot — a measure
  16. last — finally
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. last — final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. track — a path
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. bat — for baseball

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