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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: net · plane · squash · pop · sharp · tube · pitch · date

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. net — after costs
  3. sharp — clever
  4. squash — to crush
  5. date — the fruit
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pitch — completely
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. plane — a tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pop — soda
  16. net — for catching
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pop — music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. tube — the underground
  21. squash — the sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. net — in sport
  24. sharp — exactly

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