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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. current — electric
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. current — happening now
  7. staff — a stick
  8. current — of water
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. kick — in football
  12. last — finally
  13. staff — employees
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a document
  20. staff — employees
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pitch — completely
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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