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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · field · bore · dip · face · pitch · land · wound

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. face — to point toward
  4. land — ground
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. field — farmland
  10. bore — to drill
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — to come down
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. face — to confront
  18. land — a country
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — an injury
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. field — a subject
  24. dip — a sauce

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