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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. season — of the year
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — a subject
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — farmland
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pop — soda
  23. season — in sport
  24. field — for 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