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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. swing — to play on
  7. rock — a stone
  8. spell — magic
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spell — letters
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fall — the season
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mark — a grade
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fall — to drop
  19. branch — a division
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fall — to drop
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — music

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