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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 116 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: fall · wake · chip · current · field · pitch · tube · court

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. current — electric
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. current — happening now
  7. wake — a trail
  8. current — of water
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. fall — to drop
  14. court — of law
  15. chip — for betting
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — for sport
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. tube — a container
  24. fall — the season

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