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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — for sport
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tear — to rip
  7. last — finally
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — the earth
  12. last — final
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ground — a position
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — a grade
  22. field — a subject
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. wake — before a funeral

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