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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cap — of ice
  5. file — a line of people
  6. lean — to bend
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. pop — to visit
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. file — a document
  12. pop — soda
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. lean — thin
  15. cap — a hat
  16. dip — to sink
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cap — a lid
  19. current — electric
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. file — a tool
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — music

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