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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. saw — the tool
  3. board — a committee
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. content — happy
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — the fish
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. saw — the tool
  16. board — to get on
  17. content — the amount
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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