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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. drill — a practice
  8. ground — the earth
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. object — a thing
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. band — a music group
  19. drill — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. drill — army training
  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