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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: fork · pitcher · row · ground · field · rock · bat · pop

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pop — music
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rock — music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. row — a line
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. field — for sport
  24. pop — soda

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