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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: pitch · cabinet · pitcher · bore · present · land · net · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pitch — completely
  8. land — a country
  9. net — for catching
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. net — in sport
  14. present — there
  15. bore — to drill
  16. net — after costs
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bore — gave birth

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