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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. land — a country
  3. fall — the season
  4. land — ground
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fall — to drop
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. ground — a position
  10. land — to come down
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. suit — in cards
  15. bat — the animal
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. suit — clothes
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. suit — to fit
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fall — to drop

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