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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitch — completely
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bore — to tire
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ball — a great time
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bore — to drill
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cold — an illness
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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