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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spell — letters
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. row — a line
  11. face — part of the head
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spell — magic
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — farmland
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. field — for sport
  24. stand — to bear

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