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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stand — to bear
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. squash — the sport

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