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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. scale — in music
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. last — to go on
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. file — a document
  11. fine — high quality
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. fine — all right
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. last — final
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. last — finally

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