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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bank — for money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — to tease
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. kid — child
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bank — of a river
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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