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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — help
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. pound — a weight
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. race — a contest
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. spell — magic
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. stand — to bear
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. plane — a 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