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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. race — a contest
  3. present — a gift
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. perch — the fish
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. present — the time now
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. present — there
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — on your feet

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