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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cold — an illness
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — to eat with

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