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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pitch — completely
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. hand — in cards
  12. charge — in control
  13. hand — help
  14. chest — a box
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. charge — a price
  18. season — of the year
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. last — finally
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — electricity
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mine — belonging to me

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