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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mate — a friend
  3. race — a contest
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pitch — completely
  7. mate — to breed
  8. last — finally
  9. cold — an illness
  10. season — of the year
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. race — humankind
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. last — final
  21. mate — a partner
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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