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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — ground
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. race — a contest
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. land — a country
  22. cue — a hint
  23. tear — to rip
  24. land — to come down

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