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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. court — for sport
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — to shout
  22. court — of a king
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cold — the Cold War

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