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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — wild animals
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. last — to go on
  7. spring — of water
  8. clip — a video
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — a match
  13. bore — to drill
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spring — the season
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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