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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: ground · season · date · vault · pitch · bark · net · race

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pitch — completely
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. race — a contest
  8. ground — a position
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. race — the arms race
  17. vault — a safe
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — to shout
  20. season — of the year
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. race — humankind
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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