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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — after costs
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — soda
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. object — a thing
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — an aim
  21. net — for catching
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. game — a match

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