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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spell — a short time
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pitch — completely
  7. last — finally
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spell — letters
  12. scale — in music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rule — a law
  15. court — of law
  16. rule — government
  17. last — to go on
  18. spell — magic
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bulb — for light
  23. snap — to click
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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