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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. key — the most important part
  6. craft — boats
  7. roll — a cake
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — for a lock
  10. hand — help
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. tear — to rip
  15. roll — a list
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. file — a document
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. file — a tool
  21. key — in music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a line of people

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