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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: cell · pop · bank · row · pitch · bowl · field · rash

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. row — a line
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pop — music
  13. bank — for money
  14. pitch — completely
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rash — a series
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — for sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bowl — a dish

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