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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. march — the month
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. swing — music
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. face — to confront
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitch — completely
  22. face — to point toward
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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