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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.

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: pitcher · bulb · chair · cold · squash · pass · pitch · date

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — to crush
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bulb — for light
  24. squash — the vegetable

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