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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ball — a dance
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lean — thin
  10. mark — a grade
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pitch — completely
  15. mark — a trace
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — to bend
  20. drill — a practice
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. drill — army training
  24. fork — in a road

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