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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pitch — completely
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. charge — in control
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — a video
  16. charge — electricity
  17. ground — the earth
  18. clip — to cut
  19. drill — a practice
  20. current — happening now
  21. chest — a box
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — for paper
  24. charge — a price

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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