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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: game · pop · net · bat · object · board · fan · ground

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ground — crushed
  3. net — after costs
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. pop — soda
  6. board — a committee
  7. pop — to visit
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. board — to get on
  11. game — a match
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. object — a thing
  15. ground — the earth
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. ground — a position
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pop — music
  21. net — for catching
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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