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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: mug · pitch · cold · can · deal · snap · tear · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — a face
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kid — child
  10. pitch — completely
  11. tear — from crying
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. can — a tin
  17. mug — to rob
  18. deal — to handle
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. tear — from crying
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. mug — a cup
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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