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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. net — after costs
  4. scale — in music
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. net — in sport
  8. ball — a great time
  9. branch — a division
  10. ball — a dance
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. dip — to sink
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. net — for catching
  16. scale — size or range
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. coach — a trainer

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