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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bore — to tire
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. plane — a tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — for golf
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for dancing
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. branch — a division
  22. field — a subject
  23. club — a group
  24. branch — of a bank

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