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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · saw · fork · pitch · toast · track · ground · chest

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ground — a position
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — crushed
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chest — a box
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. fork — in a road
  22. season — in sport
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. fork — a garden tool

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