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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — music
  9. chest — a box
  10. spell — letters
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spell — magic
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — a short time
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — farmland
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. field — a subject
  23. march — the month
  24. arm — a part of something

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