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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — an illness
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — in sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. charge — electricity
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. charge — in control
  13. pitch — completely
  14. net — after costs
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. season — of the year
  19. net — for catching
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. plane — a tool
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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