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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 · nail · kick · prune · land · pitch · jam · game

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. land — ground
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kick — in football
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitch — completely
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. land — a country
  17. net — in sport
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. game — a match
  21. net — after costs
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — with a leg

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