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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stand — to bear
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. sharp — clever
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. capital — money
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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