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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 120 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: net · pitch · content · fork · bass · game · mug · land

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. land — to come down
  3. bass — low music
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mug — to rob
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. net — for catching
  11. bass — the fish
  12. mug — a face
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. content — happy
  15. mug — a cup
  16. fork — in a road
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. net — after costs
  20. pitch — completely
  21. game — wild animals
  22. net — in sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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