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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 116 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: staff · pitch · hide · pound · spring · pitcher · cap · game

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — completely
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — the season
  9. staff — employees
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. game — a match
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. staff — employees
  23. pound — a weight
  24. staff — a stick

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