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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 124 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. file — a tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. field — a subject
  8. file — a document
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. season — of the year
  13. field — for sport
  14. snap — to click
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. season — in sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rash — a series
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — hasty
  24. calf — a young animal

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