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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. row — a line
  3. fine — all right
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fine — high quality
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wind — to turn a key

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