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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. shower — to wash
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — completely
  10. deal — to handle
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. saw — the tool
  16. row — a line
  17. shower — rain
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. pit — a hole
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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