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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kid — child
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rock — music
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. deal — to handle
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. stand — to bear
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitch — a sports field

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