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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. can — a tin
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mug — to rob
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bat — for baseball

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