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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · mate · game · ball · file · pitch · sharp · cell

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mate — a friend
  5. file — a line of people
  6. game — a match
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mate — to breed
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. file — a tool
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in biology
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mate — a partner
  23. file — a document
  24. ball — a great time

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