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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cap — a lid
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — farmland
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cue — for pool
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — an illness
  16. field — a subject
  17. cue — a signal
  18. field — for sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cue — a hint
  24. plane — an aircraft

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