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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. march — the month
  3. land — a country
  4. ground — crushed
  5. march — music
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — completely
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. land — to come down
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. land — ground
  19. board — to get on
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. ground — a position

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