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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. net — for catching
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pop — soda
  6. net — in sport
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. net — after costs
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pop — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitch — completely
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. roll — a list
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cap — a hat
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — to visit
  24. mouse — the animal

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