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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 120 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — a gift
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. present — there
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pitch — completely
  16. present — the time now
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stand — to bear
  24. sharp — with an edge

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