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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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Word bank
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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 · file · pass · cold · roll · lie · wave · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. file — a tool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. roll — a cake
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hand — in cards

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