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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — a subject
  13. spell — letters
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pitch — completely
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cell — a phone
  24. file — a document

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