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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitch — completely
  3. row — to paddle
  4. club — for dancing
  5. row — a line
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — rain
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. game — a match
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. shower — to wash
  15. last — finally
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. scale — in music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. last — final
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. scale — size or range

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