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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 · wake · fan · temple · date · net · mark · ground

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ground — crushed
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. mark — a grade
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. net — in sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. net — after costs
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitch — completely
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mark — a trace
  21. date — the fruit
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. net — for catching

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