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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: ground · cell · mouse · pitch · date · field · bowl · stick

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — a subject
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ground — a position
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitch — completely
  14. ground — the earth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — for sport
  24. cell — in biology

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