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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pit — in a race
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pit — a hole
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. firm — decided
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kid — child
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. firm — steady
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. firm — a company
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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