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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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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: stem · wound · snap · pound · pitch · race · object · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. race — a contest
  4. object — to protest
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. net — after costs
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. race — humankind
  12. pound — a weight
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. snap — to click
  16. object — an aim
  17. net — for catching
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. object — a thing
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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