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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. land — a country
  3. spell — magic
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — ground
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spell — letters
  10. date — the fruit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stem — to come from
  15. content — the amount
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — to come down
  21. content — happy
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. swing — music
  24. spell — a short time

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