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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pit — in a race
  3. press — to push
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. land — a country
  9. net — in sport
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. net — for catching
  17. land — to come down
  18. press — newspapers
  19. game — a match
  20. press — a publisher
  21. land — ground
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pit — a hole

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