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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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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: mark · field · chest · bark · fall · wind · pitch · tube

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tube — a container
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mark — a grade
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wind — to turn a key

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