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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: tear · pitch · date · dip · deal · key · stick · cold

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — not warm
  4. key — the most important part
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. pitch — completely
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. key — for a lock
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. key — in music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — to rip
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — an illness

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