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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cell — a phone
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. ground — the earth
  7. present — there
  8. field — for sport
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitch — completely
  12. field — a subject
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — crushed
  18. present — a gift
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. last — finally
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. field — farmland
  24. cell — in biology

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