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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. band — a ring
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spring — the season
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a music group
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. spring — a coil
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. net — in sport
  24. spring — of water

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