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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — finally
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. land — a country
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. squash — the sport
  13. scale — size or range
  14. net — after costs
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. last — final
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. last — to go on
  22. scale — in music
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. pitch — completely

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