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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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 — not warm
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spell — letters
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. deal — to handle
  10. current — happening now
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. rush — hurry
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. current — electric
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. current — of water
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spell — a short time
  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