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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: pitch · sharp · squash · field · wake · pound · roll · kid

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. field — farmland
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — a list
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitch — completely
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. squash — the sport
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. kid — child
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pound — to hit hard

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