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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. net — in sport
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. net — after costs
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. field — for sport
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — to hurry

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