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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. march — the month
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kick — in football
  7. game — wild animals
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. drill — the tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. march — the month
  17. ground — a position
  18. march — music
  19. plane — a tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. game — a match
  23. drill — a practice
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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