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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — a country
  6. bore — to tire
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — music
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. land — ground
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ground — the earth
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. land — to come down
  24. swing — in golf

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