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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. drill — the tool
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. charge — a price
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — a country
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wound — an injury
  15. charge — in control
  16. season — in sport
  17. land — ground
  18. charge — electricity
  19. drill — a practice
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — to come down
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — an injury

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