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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. stand — to bear
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pop — music
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — a break
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stand — on your feet

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