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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spell — magic
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — a short time
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. spell — letters
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — size or range
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. scale — in music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bore — gave birth

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