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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 · pitch · mine · wake · field · branch · pitcher · rash

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. can — a tin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — to be able to
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. field — for sport
  11. rash — a series
  12. branch — a division
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. can — a tin
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. field — a subject
  23. rash — hasty
  24. field — farmland

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