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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitch — completely
  3. last — to go on
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a music group
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. band — a ring
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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