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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fall — the season
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — to go on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — finally
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. sharp — clever
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. last — final
  17. pitch — completely
  18. land — a country
  19. fall — to drop
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. land — to come down
  23. perch — the fish
  24. sharp — exactly

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