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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. game — a match
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — help
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mate — a friend
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — not warm
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bass — low music
  21. mate — to breed
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bass — the instrument

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