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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: spell · march · pitcher · nail · firm · club · net · bat

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. net — for catching
  3. firm — a company
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — after costs
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. spell — letters
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. firm — steady
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. net — in sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. club — a group
  17. firm — decided
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. spell — magic
  22. club — for golf
  23. bat — the animal
  24. march — music

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