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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.

Make a worksheet

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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. field — for sport
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bound — certain
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. field — farmland
  7. bound — tied together
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bound — obliged
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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