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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. 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. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — for digging
  4. shower — rain
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. shower — to wash
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. march — music
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. 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