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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — in a race
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. current — of water
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. current — happening now
  18. pitch — completely
  19. current — electric
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. pit — a hole

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