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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. staff — a stick
  7. game — a match
  8. staff — employees
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pit — a hole
  12. staff — employees
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitch — completely
  17. kid — to tease
  18. key — in music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kid — child
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pit — in a race
  24. key — the most important part

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