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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pound — a weight
  7. mate — a friend
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — a partner
  11. can — a tin
  12. mate — to breed
  13. content — happy
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — wild animals
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. can — a tin
  23. game — a match
  24. can — to be able to

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