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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. band — a ring
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. last — final
  11. lean — to bend
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rush — hurry
  14. last — finally
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. last — to go on

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