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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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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: pitch · scale · hand · face · spell · mine · ground · nail

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ground — a position
  5. face — to point toward
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spell — magic
  8. hand — help
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. scale — size or range
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — in music
  17. spell — letters
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. pitch — completely
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. spell — a short time
  22. face — to confront
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mine — for digging

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