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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wind — moving air
  4. staff — employees
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. field — for sport
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. shower — to wash
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. field — a subject
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — rain
  22. deal — to handle
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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