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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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 — the Cold War
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bulb — for light
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bulb — for light
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. content — happy
  10. rash — a series
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wind — moving air
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cold — an illness
  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