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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 120 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: lash · pitch · band · land · drill · ball · ground · net

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. net — after costs
  10. band — a music group
  11. ball — a great time
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a ring
  16. drill — army training
  17. land — ground
  18. pitch — completely
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. land — a country
  21. ground — crushed
  22. net — in sport
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lash — an eyelash

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