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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. pitch — completely
  6. rock — music
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tube — a container
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rock — a stone
  18. tube — the underground
  19. dip — to sink
  20. net — in sport
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. dip — a sauce

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