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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.

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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: pitch · lash · field · file · calf · mate · chest · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitch — completely
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. mate — a partner
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mate — a friend
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chest — a box
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. file — a document
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mate — to breed
  24. chest — of your body

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