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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. club — a group
  7. file — a tool
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitch — completely
  11. toast — bread
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — an injury
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. club — for golf

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