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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. land — ground
  5. firm — a company
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. firm — steady
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. firm — decided
  14. land — a country
  15. field — a subject
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — part of the body

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