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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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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: field · toast · snap · wind · ball · cap · pitch · saw

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. pitch — completely
  8. snap — to click
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wind — moving air
  13. toast — bread
  14. field — a subject
  15. cap — a lid
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cap — a hat
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a great time
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. saw — the 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