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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: spring · march · coach · pitch · board · last · bass · field

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. pitch — completely
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bass — the fish
  6. last — to go on
  7. bass — low music
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — of water
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. last — final
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — finally
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — the season
  24. march — music

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