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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. staff — a stick
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — employees
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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