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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. ground — crushed
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bulb — for light
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — a phone
  16. ground — the earth
  17. board — a committee
  18. ground — a position
  19. pitch — completely
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. game — wild animals
  24. board — to get on

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