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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mate — a partner
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mate — a friend
  12. drill — the tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. current — electric
  15. scale — size or range
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mate — to breed
  18. current — of water
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. drill — army training
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. current — happening now

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