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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cap — a hat
  4. shower — to wash
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. shower — rain
  11. field — for sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. branch — a division
  14. mark — a trace
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. field — farmland
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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