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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pitch — completely
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pop — music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pop — soda
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pop — to visit
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. season — to add flavour

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