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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. roll — a list
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. kid — to tease
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. roll — a cake
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — child
  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