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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: straw · pitch · date · bowl · current · field · mate · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pitch — completely
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. current — happening now
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mate — a friend
  12. date — the fruit
  13. current — of water
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — for sport
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. current — electric

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