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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to click
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pitch — completely
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. game — a match
  12. squash — to crush
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pit — in a race
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pitch — a sports field

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