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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 120 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: ground · tear · nail · row · field · stem · pitch · net

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — for sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. field — a subject
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. net — for catching
  18. ground — a position
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — farmland
  21. row — a line
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — to rip
  24. row — a quarrel

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