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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. track — a song
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. game — a match
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. track — a path
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a document
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. file — a line of people
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — to get on
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. track — to keep track
  22. file — a tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. board — a committee

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