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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: key · racket · wind · fine · pitch · ground · current · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. ground — a position
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. current — electric
  9. key — in music
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fine — all right
  13. key — the most important part
  14. current — happening now
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. key — for a lock
  18. current — of water
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fine — high quality
  22. ground — the earth
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pitch — completely

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