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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: band · mine · foot · snap · net · pound · staff · pitch

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. foot — a measure
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. staff — a stick
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. band — a music group
  11. net — for catching
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. net — in sport
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. band — a ring
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. staff — employees
  19. net — after costs
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mine — belonging to me

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