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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: net · cold · bear · pop · pitch · mate · fork · jam

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pop — soda
  3. mate — to breed
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. net — for catching
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — after costs
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — to visit
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mate — a partner
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. mate — a friend
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. net — in sport

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