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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. shower — rain
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. spell — a short time
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stand — to bear
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. key — the most important part
  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