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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — decided
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cold — not warm
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — the earth
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. firm — a company
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. ground — a position
  18. march — music
  19. pitch — completely
  20. march — the month
  21. ground — crushed
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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