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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. kick — in football
  7. dip — to sink
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wake — a trail
  14. net — for catching
  15. game — a match
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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