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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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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: pitcher · pass · cold · cabinet · pop · drill · kick · wind

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pop — soda
  18. cold — not warm
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pop — to visit
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. drill — army training

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