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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. game — a match
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pop — soda
  7. last — final
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cabinet — ministers

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