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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — soda
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pop — to visit
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. file — a tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. fork — in a road
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rule — government
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — music
  22. race — a contest
  23. file — a document
  24. fork — a garden tool

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