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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. tear — from crying

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