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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — a trace
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. club — for dancing
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spring — the season
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. club — for golf
  21. mark — a grade
  22. club — a group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — a horse colour

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