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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rock — music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kick — in football
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of a king
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of law
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — for sport
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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