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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · press · pound · game · pitch · ground · file · fine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ground — a position
  3. press — to push
  4. content — happy
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pound — a weight
  16. press — a publisher
  17. pitch — completely
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fine — all right
  21. content — the amount
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. file — a document

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