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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. current — of water
  9. cell — a phone
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — not warm

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