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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. last — final
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. drill — a practice
  5. ball — a dance
  6. land — ground
  7. toast — bread
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. drill — army training
  10. row — a line
  11. last — to go on
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. land — to come down
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. last — finally
  17. land — a country
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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