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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. last — final
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. last — finally

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