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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: field · pitcher · ball · bowl · fall · hide · game · tube

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. field — farmland
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — for sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — a subject
  16. tube — a container
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — a match
  24. fall — to drop

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