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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rock — music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — not warm
  18. race — humankind
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — the arms race
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. rock — a stone
  24. ruler — for measuring

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