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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 124 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mug — a cup
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — a phone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — to rob
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cell — in biology

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