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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pitch — completely
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ground — the earth
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ground — a position
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. game — a match
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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