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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 · field · club · mug · band · rash · ground · pitch

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — for sport
  4. mug — a cup
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mug — to rob
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — a subject
  12. club — for golf
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitch — completely
  15. mug — a face
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — a position
  18. net — in sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ground — the earth
  23. band — a music group
  24. rash — on the skin

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