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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fine — all right
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. dip — to sink
  9. rule — a law
  10. cue — a hint
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pitch — completely
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. dip — a sauce

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