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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spring — the season
  6. track — a path
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. race — the arms race
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bound — certain
  13. race — a contest
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. track — a song
  17. kick — in football
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spring — a coil
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. race — humankind
  23. bound — tied together
  24. spring — of water

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