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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: can · pitcher · fan · land · chest · pitch · date · row

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — a country
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — to come down
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. date — the fruit
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. can — a tin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. can — a tin
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. row — a line
  22. land — ground
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. can — to be able to

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