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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. snap — to click
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. field — a subject
  8. pit — a hole
  9. field — for sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stand — to bear
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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