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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. face — to point toward
  3. season — of the year
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. court — of law
  8. content — the amount
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. face — part of the head
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. court — of a king
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. face — to confront
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — happy
  19. season — in sport
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. court — for sport
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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