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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chest — a box
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wake — a trail
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — completely
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — in music
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — size or range
  18. chest — of your body
  19. content — the amount
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hide — to keep secret

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