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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tear — to rip
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — to fit
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — a match
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. suit — clothes
  24. game — wild animals

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