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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 116 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: pitcher · game · hand · pitch · net · rest · cell · plane

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rest — a break
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — a phone
  9. net — after costs
  10. hand — help
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. net — in sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rest — what's left
  17. game — a match
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. net — for catching

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