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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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Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bass — low music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bass — the fish
  14. can — a tin
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — to eat
  19. can — a tin
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pitch — completely
  22. can — to be able to
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wake — before a funeral

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