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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: racket · cold · net · present · tube · fork · pitch · key

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. present — a gift
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. key — in music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. net — after costs
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. present — there
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. net — for catching
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — completely
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. present — the time now

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