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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mate — to breed
  4. current — happening now
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mate — a partner
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. stand — to bear
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitch — completely
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. current — electric
  17. hand — help
  18. current — of water
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — child

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