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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cap — of ice
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. pop — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pop — soda
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bound — tied together

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