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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. present — there
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bear — the animal
  7. lean — thin
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fall — to drop
  15. object — to protest
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a match
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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