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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: leaves · shower · pitch · snap · content · pound · field · craft

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pound — a weight
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. shower — to wash
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. snap — to click
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. shower — rain
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. craft — boats
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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