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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: bear · pitcher · chair · net · tube · ground · straw · bass

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — after costs
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bass — low music
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ground — a position
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bass — the fish
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ground — crushed
  23. net — for catching
  24. bear — to put up with

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