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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. rule — a law
  6. race — the arms race
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — completely
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. land — a country
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. deal — to handle
  16. spell — magic
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spell — letters
  19. land — ground
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. land — to come down
  22. rule — government
  23. ground — a position
  24. deal — a big deal

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