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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. wake — a trail
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. file — a line of people
  14. degree — temperature
  15. file — a document
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — completely
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. file — a tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cold — an illness

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