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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 116 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. kick — in football
  3. cue — a signal
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — to go on
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cue — a hint
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cold — not warm
  17. last — finally
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. last — final
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cold — an illness

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