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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pit — in a race
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ball — a great time
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — help
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. capital — money
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. shower — rain
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pitch — completely

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