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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: pitch · arm · spring · bat · suit · band · net · bay

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. net — after costs
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. spring — the season
  7. suit — in cards
  8. net — in sport
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. suit — clothes
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a music group
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. spring — of water

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