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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kid — to tease
  3. drill — army training
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. perch — the fish
  6. race — the arms race
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. charge — a price
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — child
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — in control
  17. drill — a practice
  18. snap — to click
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. race — humankind
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — the animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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