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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. foot — a measure
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chest — a box
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. ball — a great time
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. dip — to sink

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