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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: ball · staff · firm · pitch · lash · field · drill · pound

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. firm — decided
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. firm — steady
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — a subject
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. drill — army training
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. drill — a practice
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. drill — the tool
  23. firm — a company
  24. field — for sport

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