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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. kid — child
  4. root — of a word
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitch — completely
  8. swing — in golf
  9. can — a tin
  10. pass — a permit
  11. root — the cause
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. last — finally
  14. can — to be able to
  15. root — of a plant
  16. last — final
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. last — to go on
  20. swing — music
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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