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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. spring — of water
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. lean — to bend
  5. face — to confront
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spring — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitch — completely
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. content — happy
  13. lean — thin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rest — a break
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. content — the amount

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