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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cap — a lid
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. fall — the season
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. spring — the season
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pass — a permit

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