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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: net · jam · stand · pitch · date · cold · perch · mine

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — an illness
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. net — for catching
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. net — after costs
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. net — in sport
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stand — to bear

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