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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 · last · track · fan · bore · press · field · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. press — to push
  3. field — farmland
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. pitch — completely
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — a subject
  11. press — a publisher
  12. file — a document
  13. field — for sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bore — to drill
  22. track — a song
  23. file — a line of people
  24. press — newspapers

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