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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — not warm
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — rain
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — to wash
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bulb — for light
  18. sharp — clever
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. branch — of a bank

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