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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rash — hasty
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pit — a hole
  12. ground — a position
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — in a race
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. rash — a series
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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