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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: root · club · pitch · pound · bulb · date · cell · net

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. club — a group
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pound — a weight
  8. date — the fruit
  9. club — for golf
  10. root — the cause
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. net — for catching
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a word
  17. bulb — for light
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bulb — for light
  21. net — in sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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