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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ground — the earth
  5. net — after costs
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. net — for catching
  9. bass — the fish
  10. chip — for betting
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. file — a tool
  15. chip — to eat
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. net — in sport
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bass — low music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. game — a match
  24. racket — for tennis

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