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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: pop · board · date · pitcher · net · straw · scale · kick

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. date — the fruit
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. board — a committee
  12. pop — soda
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. scale — size or range
  16. net — for catching
  17. pop — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. scale — in music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pop — to visit

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