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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. band — a ring
  3. cue — a hint
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cue — for pool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. band — a music group
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — of a word
  17. pitch — completely
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — the fruit

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