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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pitch — completely
  12. club — for golf
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. sharp — clever
  20. land — a country
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. club — a group
  24. leaves — of a tree

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