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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: wake · fine · land · wind · field · pitch · rush · bay

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. field — farmland
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. land — ground
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. field — a subject
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. land — to come down
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. wake — a trail
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. land — a country
  24. pitch — completely

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