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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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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — from a university
  7. date — the fruit
  8. face — to confront
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. face — to point toward
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — part of the head
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bore — to drill
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bore — to tire
  24. chair — a professorship

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