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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: pitch · fan · bowl · coach · ground · mine · saw · row

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. row — to paddle
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitch — completely
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — a line
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ground — the earth

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