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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. row — a line
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — a box
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pitch — completely
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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