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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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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: snap · row · field · club · ground · pound · pitch · ball

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ball — a dance
  5. snap — to click
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. club — a group
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ground — a position
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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