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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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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 · pitch · toast · game · cap · bat · bark · pound

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cap — a lid
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bark — to shout
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pound — a weight
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. net — for catching
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — of a tree

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