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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. race — a contest
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spell — magic
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. game — a match
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wax — to grow
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitch — completely
  24. present — there

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