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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · ground · cabinet · suit · spell · hand · wind · pitch

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. suit — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. suit — clothes
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pitch — completely
  15. ground — a position
  16. spell — magic
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — part of the body

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