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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. season — in sport
  6. suit — to fit
  7. ground — the earth
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. ground — a position
  12. suit — in cards
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. suit — clothes
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitch — completely
  19. staff — employees
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. staff — employees
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. staff — a stick

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