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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cell — a phone
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pit — a hole
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. court — of law
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. tear — to rip

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