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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — hasty
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rash — a series
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. plane — an aircraft

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