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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — in football
  7. pitch — completely
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. squash — to crush
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. squash — the sport

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