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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · content · game · bay · pitch · squash · spell · net

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. game — a match
  4. spell — a short time
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. squash — to crush
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitch — completely
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — for catching
  19. squash — the sport
  20. content — happy
  21. spell — magic
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. net — after costs

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