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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. tube — the underground
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tube — a container
  5. stock — goods
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mate — to breed
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. face — to point toward
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. face — part of the head
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. face — to confront

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