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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. deal — to handle
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rush — hurry
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cold — an illness
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. clip — a video
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. key — in music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. key — the most important part
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cold — not warm

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