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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. ground — crushed
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. pass — a permit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. ground — a position
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bass — low music
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cold — the Cold War

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