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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. field — a subject
  22. content — the amount
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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