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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. race — a contest
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fine — all right
  7. track — a song
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — a path
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fine — high quality
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — humankind
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cold — not warm

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