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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. land — ground
  3. file — a tool
  4. race — the arms race
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. race — a contest
  10. land — to come down
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. race — humankind
  14. toast — bread
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. ground — crushed
  20. land — a country
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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