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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. saw — the tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lean — to bend
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — thin
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. sharp — clever
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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