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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitch · bay · racket · cold · leaves · content · lie · cap

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cap — a lid
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pitch — completely

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