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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: ball · jam · pitch · net · tear · content · row · club

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. ball — a dance
  3. net — for catching
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. content — happy
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ball — a great time
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. club — for golf
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. net — after costs
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — the amount
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pitch — completely
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. club — a group
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitch — a sports field

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