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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 124 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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bulb — for light
  11. squash — the sport
  12. game — a match
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. file — a document
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. file — a tool

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