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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. season — of the year
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — final
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rush — hurry
  7. squash — the sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. sharp — clever
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. deal — to handle
  23. last — finally
  24. season — in sport

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