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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. file — a document
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cold — not warm
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pitch — completely
  10. snap — to click
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. season — in sport
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. season — of the year

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