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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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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: ruler · pitch · racket · cold · key · pound · hand · mate

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. key — for a lock
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. key — the most important part
  7. hand — help
  8. key — in music
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mate — a friend
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pound — a weight

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