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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rock — music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. sharp — clever
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rock — a stone
  7. land — a country
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pitch — completely
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. land — to come down
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — a match
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. spring — the season

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