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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. cold — not warm
  2. mate — to breed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. hand — help
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. spell — magic
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hand — in cards
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mate — a partner
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. spell — letters
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pitch — completely
  23. mate — a friend
  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