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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. land — to come down
  3. club — a group
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rash — a series
  8. branch — a division
  9. land — ground
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — for golf
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. land — a country
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. rash — hasty
  24. game — a match

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