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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — high quality
  4. row — a line
  5. track — a song
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. hand — help
  8. file — a document
  9. kick — in football
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fine — all right
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. file — a tool
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hand — in cards
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. ground — a position
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. file — a line of people
  23. track — a path
  24. ground — the earth

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