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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spell — letters
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. object — to protest
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. present — a gift
  11. branch — a division
  12. foot — a measure
  13. roll — a cake
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — an aim
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. roll — a list
  20. present — there
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. object — a thing
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. game — wild animals

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