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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rule — government
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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