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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. present — there
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. present — a gift
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cap — a hat
  24. present — the time now

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