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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pitch — completely
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cold — an illness
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. last — to go on
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. last — final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. field — for sport
  15. toast — bread
  16. field — farmland
  17. last — finally
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. field — a subject

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