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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. chest — a box
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — a publisher
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. field — for sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. field — a subject
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chest — of your body
  23. press — to push
  24. field — farmland

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