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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — music
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pitch — completely
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wound — an injury

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