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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 120 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: deal · mine · bound · pitch · lie · pit · bat · cold

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bound — certain
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cold — not warm

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