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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. scale — in music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cell — in biology
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rash — hasty
  11. swing — music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. scale — size or range
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rash — a series

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