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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bound — certain
  14. field — a subject
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mug — to rob
  22. field — for sport
  23. mate — a friend
  24. field — farmland

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