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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — a weight
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — an illness
  9. board — to get on
  10. cold — not warm
  11. swing — music
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. band — a music group
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. band — a rubber band

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