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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rock — music
  5. hand — help
  6. rock — a stone
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. game — a match
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. file — a document
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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