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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. game — a match
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pitch — completely
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. land — ground
  15. chair — a leader
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ball — a dance
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — wild animals
  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