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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 116 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: field · chair · pitch · chip · safe · spring · hand · board

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — completely
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. board — to get on
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. board — a committee
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spring — of water
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. field — a subject

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