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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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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cue — a signal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mate — a partner
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cue — for pool
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. mate — to breed
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — completely

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