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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: game · stock · bore · pit · field · file · pitch · track

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. game — a match
  3. stock — shares
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pit — a hole
  7. file — a document
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. file — a tool
  10. bore — to drill
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. field — a subject
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. track — a path
  17. stock — goods
  18. track — a song
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. file — a line of people
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pitch — completely

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