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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. last — to go on
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. last — finally
  17. pop — soda
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pop — music
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. last — final
  24. cold — an illness

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