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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.

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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. mine — for digging
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chip — for betting
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. field — for sport
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. sharp — clever
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitch — completely

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