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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pit — a hole
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chest — a box
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ground — a position
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ball — a dance
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pitch — completely

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