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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. can — a tin
  6. chest — a box
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chest — of your body
  16. can — to be able to
  17. band — a music group
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — all right
  22. hand — help
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a rubber band

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