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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: net · pound · pit · game · kid · pitch · mine · scale

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pit — a hole
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — in music
  17. game — a match
  18. pit — in a race
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. kid — child
  22. net — after costs
  23. mine — an explosive
  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