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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 · tear · coach · race · bound · nail · field

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — humankind
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pitch — completely
  14. race — a contest
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bound — tied together
  17. race — the arms race
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bound — certain
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. field — for sport
  24. nail — for a hammer

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