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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: row · date · land · bark · leaves · fan · content · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. content — happy
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. land — a country
  6. row — a line
  7. land — ground
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitch — completely
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. land — to come down
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. content — the amount

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