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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. fall — the season
  4. pitch — completely
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hand — help
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. prune — to trim
  24. net — in sport

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