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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cap — a lid
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pitch — completely
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wake — before a funeral

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