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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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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: ball · drill · present · dip · pop · pitcher · arm · cold

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — an illness
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ball — a great time
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pop — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. present — there
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pop — soda
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. dip — to sink
  23. arm — part of the body
  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