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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kick — in football
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cold — not warm
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. band — a ring

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