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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · pitch · bat · stand · bark · net · ruler · ground

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. net — after costs
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. ground — the earth
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — the animal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — in sport
  20. ground — a position
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bark — to shout

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