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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · bat · content · lean · face · bass · squash · field

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. face — to confront
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. pitch — completely
  9. lean — thin
  10. face — to point toward
  11. lean — to bend
  12. content — happy
  13. field — a subject
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. squash — to crush
  21. content — the amount
  22. face — part of the head
  23. squash — the sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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