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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. lean — thin
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cell — a phone
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lean — to bend
  11. hand — help
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. squash — to crush
  21. hand — in cards
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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