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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitch — completely
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rule — a law
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rock — music
  18. rule — government
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitch — a sports field

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