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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fine — all right
  3. race — humankind
  4. press — a publisher
  5. ground — crushed
  6. press — newspapers
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — a position
  11. wound — an injury
  12. track — a path
  13. press — to push
  14. track — a song
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cell — in biology
  19. race — a contest
  20. ground — the earth
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pitch — completely
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cell — a phone

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