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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. game — a match
  4. bore — to drill
  5. present — a gift
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — of law
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. row — a line
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of a king
  16. bore — to tire
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. season — in sport
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — for sport
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. bore — gave birth

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