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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 · rule · straw · bank · rest · bat · dip · cold

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rest — what's left
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rule — a law
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bank — of a river
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bank — for money
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bank — for money
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rule — government

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