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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: key · pit · mate · ball · ground · field · hide · pitcher

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mate — a partner
  6. key — for a lock
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ground — the earth
  15. key — in music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — a friend
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mate — to breed
  23. ground — a position
  24. pit — in a race

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