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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. fall — to drop
  4. last — finally
  5. pitch — completely
  6. last — to go on
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. last — final
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. track — a path
  20. lean — thin
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. track — a song
  23. cell — in biology
  24. lean — to bend

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