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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bound — obliged
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — certain
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — not warm
  10. race — the arms race
  11. field — for sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — a contest
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. race — humankind
  24. field — farmland

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