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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a list
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pitch — completely
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. foot — a measure
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — on a roll

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