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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — not warm
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitch — completely
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. press — to push
  19. can — a tin
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hand — help
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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