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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. land — to come down
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bat — the animal
  5. net — after costs
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ground — a position

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