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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: bass · bowl · cold · pitch · cell · field · coach · key

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. field — a subject
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pitch — completely
  9. field — for sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. key — in music
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cell — a phone
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. key — the most important part
  24. field — farmland

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