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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pitch — completely
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stock — shares
  12. pop — music
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cold — not warm
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. march — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. stock — goods
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. pop — to visit
  24. calf — of the leg

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