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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
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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 · scale · file · wound · pitch · ground · mine · stick

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pitch — completely
  11. file — a document
  12. game — wild animals
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ground — the earth
  16. scale — in music
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. ground — a position
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mine — an explosive

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