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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rush — hurry
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. current — happening now
  6. field — for sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. current — of water
  9. pitch — completely
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. scale — in music
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. current — electric
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — a subject
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. field — farmland
  24. hand — help

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