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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: pitch · spring · pitcher · ruler · hand · net · land · key

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  2. hand — in cards
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — to come down
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — the season
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. key — the most important part
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. net — in sport
  20. key — in music
  21. land — a country
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — ground
  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