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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: pitcher · dip · board · band · wound · racket · squash · field

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. board — to get on
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. field — a subject
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. band — a ring
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. field — farmland
  14. board — a committee
  15. dip — to sink
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. band — a music group
  22. field — for sport
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. band — a rubber band

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