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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mug — a face
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mug — to rob
  11. capital — a city
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mug — a cup
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ground — a position
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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