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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 120 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: nail · fall · saw · march · field · bat · pitch · rest

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. fall — the season
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — the animal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — farmland
  13. march — music
  14. field — for sport
  15. pitch — completely
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rest — a break

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