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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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. coach — a trainer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cap — a lid
  9. content — happy
  10. cap — a hat
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. file — a document
  18. hand — help
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. content — the amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — in cards
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitcher — a jug

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