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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. last — final
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — army training
  10. last — to go on
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — finally
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wind — moving air

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