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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitch — completely
  12. row — a line
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pop — music
  24. bore — to drill

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