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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — a signal
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cue — a hint
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — soda
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. net — in sport
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cue — for pool
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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