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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitch — completely
  10. face — to point toward
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mate — to breed
  14. face — part of the head
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spell — letters
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spell — magic
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — with an edge

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