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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: bat · current · snap · ruler · cold · dip · pitch · arm

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. snap — to click
  3. current — of water
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — an illness
  8. current — electric
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. current — happening now
  13. bat — the animal
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pitch — completely
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. dip — to dunk

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