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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. field — farmland
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. club — for golf
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. club — a group
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. scale — in music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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