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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: racket · last · field · bore · scale · bass · pitch · march

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. scale — in music
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — final
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. bass — low music
  20. last — finally
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. scale — size or range

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