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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · fork · tube · racket · pitch · calf · ground · spring

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. ground — crushed
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spring — the season
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fork — in a road
  13. spring — of water
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ground — the earth
  19. game — a match
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. tube — a container
  22. game — wild animals
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. racket — for tennis

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