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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. file — a line of people
  10. game — a match
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. file — a document
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. game — wild animals
  18. file — a tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. lie — to recline

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