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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitch — completely
  5. race — a contest
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. squash — the sport
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — humankind
  14. squash — to crush
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spell — a short time
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. race — the arms race
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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