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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: hide · pitch · cold · club · fork · ruler · mine · net

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. net — in sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. net — after costs
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — a group
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. net — for catching
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pitch — completely
  19. club — for golf
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fork — to eat with

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