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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
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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: bowl · patient · lie · pitch · land · file · ruler · field

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. land — ground
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — to come down
  5. field — a subject
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a line of people
  19. land — a country
  20. file — a document
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. file — a tool

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