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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 · bound · spell · board · bat · pitcher · mine · can

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. can — a tin
  4. spell — magic
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bound — certain
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bound — tied together
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — letters
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bat — for baseball

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