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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. field — a subject
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. march — the month
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. kid — child
  8. field — for sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. court — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — a weight
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. court — of law
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. court — of a king
  22. march — music
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. racket — for tennis

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