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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 120 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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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: face · mouse · pitch · row · cap · pound · fall · field

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fall — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. field — for sport
  15. row — a line
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. face — to confront
  21. field — farmland
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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