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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. ground — the earth
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pit — a hole
  15. ground — a position
  16. cold — an illness
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cold — not warm
  19. snap — to click
  20. key — in music
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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