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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: racket · wound · hide · pitch · snap · ground · lean · game

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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 — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lean — thin
  8. pitch — completely
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. snap — to click
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. ground — the earth
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — a match
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. ground — crushed
  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