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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 · field · kid · board · hand · temple · bear · rash

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. board — a committee
  3. pitch — completely
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rash — a series
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. board — to get on
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. hand — help
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rash — hasty
  24. field — farmland

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