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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: bass · bowl · tear · game · board · pitcher · field · key

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. key — in music
  10. board — to get on
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. key — the most important part
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. key — for a lock
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bass — the fish
  24. board — a committee

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