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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. foot — a measure
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a song
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cue — for pool
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. foot — the bottom

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