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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — after costs
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pass — a permit
  13. net — in sport
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — child
  17. sharp — clever
  18. net — for catching
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pitch — completely
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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