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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. toast — bread
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. staff — employees
  7. bulb — for light
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. game — a match
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. season — of the year
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bulb — for light
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. season — in sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. toast — the most admired

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