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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stock — goods
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cap — of ice
  5. lean — thin
  6. field — farmland
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — a match
  11. field — a subject
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — to tease
  15. game — wild animals
  16. field — for sport
  17. cap — a hat
  18. lean — to bend
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stock — shares
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. game — a kind of play

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