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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. land — to come down
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pop — music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. land — a country
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cap — a lid
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — soda
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — to come from
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ground — a position

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