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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: hand · pop · pitch · ground · band · date · perch · racket

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. band — a ring
  3. ground — crushed
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pop — to visit
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. hand — help
  14. ground — a position
  15. date — the fruit
  16. band — a music group
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — the earth
  24. hand — part of the body

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