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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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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: hand · pitch · fork · ball · rule · march · bowl · snap

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. ball — a great time
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rule — government
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. march — the month
  23. rule — a law
  24. march — the month

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